


Lost and Found

by jane_fucking_seymour



Category: Six - Marlow/Moss
Genre: Mary Seymour - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-05
Updated: 2019-07-05
Packaged: 2020-06-09 17:28:01
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,581
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19480630
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jane_fucking_seymour/pseuds/jane_fucking_seymour
Summary: She sees her, Catherine Parr swears she sees her.Her little Mary.





	Lost and Found

Catherine Parr was tired.

As she crumpled up yet another piece of paper, her mind racing with a plethora of ideas. So little time, so much to write, she muses with a smile. She almost thinks it’s her that’s giggling at the joke, but then she realizes it’s not.

She looks around the room; no one is there.

Odd.

She looks back at her notebook and frowns; not a single word there. It’s empty, despite the buzzing in her head and the twitching of her hands. Maybe she’s had too much coffee or something; maybe she needs to take a rest-

Again, the giggle.

Catherine sees something - someone? - out of the corner of her eye. She looks directly at it… and it’s gone. Vanished. 

Weird.

Just as she’s about to ask who’s there, there’s a knock on her door. She opens it to reveal Boleyn.

“Hey, Anne,” she says with a nod. “What’s up?”

“We’re headed to the park, Kitty and I,” she says. “Wanna come with?”

Parr shakes her head, moving back to her chair. “No, I want to write a bit more-” she starts, then when she hears the giggle behind her, she rolls her eyes. “Yeah, yeah, I do it all the time, laugh it up-”

“What?” Boleyn asks, tilting her head. “I didn’t laugh, Cathy.”

Parr stops, turns back around, and gives her a look of her own. “Then who did?”

“Someone laughed? I didn’t hear anything,” Boleyn replies. Then, with a shrug. “Suit yourself, though. If we get ice cream or something, I’ll be sure to text the group chat.”

With a friendly wave, Boleyn leaves.

Parr puts a hand to her head, tilting it for a moment before she turns back to her bed… and finds a girl. She looks familiar.

“Uh… hello?”

“Hello!” The child says, smiling brightly. “How did… how did you get in here?”

“Whatcha mean?” she asks, legs swinging off the side of the bed. “I’ve always been here, in a way.”

“What’s your name?” Parr asks, though it feels like a stupid question.

The child thinks so, too. “What’s my name? Really?”

She stands up on the bed.

“Do you not recognize your own daughter, mum?”

Something snaps within Parr and instead of confusion, of logic speaking to her, there’s an overwhelming sense of joy and astonishment. Yes, her mind tells her, that’s Mary. She’s alive and well and you know where she is. She’s not lost. She’s right here.

“Right…” Parr says, almost in a daze. “Of course. You’re here, right here.”

“Exactly, mum,” she says, giggling. It’s the laughter she’s been hearing; it makes her heart soar. “Do you want to play a game?”

That’s how Parr spends the day, playing simple games with her child - tic tac toe, hangman, chess and checkers; the girl is almost as good as Parr, it seems, at everything they play.

“You taught me well!” she says, smiling brightly at her mother. 

“Yes,” Parr says, nodding. “Yes, I did.”

The part of her that knows there’s an issue here is long gone. She’s fully dived in, fairly easily so, and there’s not much that can get her out-

-until she hears a knock on the door.

Mary’s face turns serious.

“He’s gonna hurt me, Mum,” she says, eyes suddenly wide and fearful.

“Who is, love?” Parr asks, extending a hand towards the girl. She pulls back, back towards the bed. 

“It’s him! You need to stop him, don’t listen to him, mum!” Mary is very panicked. “I want to stay here with you. Don’t you want to stay with me?”

“Of course, love-” Parr starts, trying to calm her daughter. “It’s alright-”

“Parr?” A voice that she can’t recognize calls from the other side. “Parr, who’s in there with you? You’ve been in your room since morning, I just wanted to check on you-”

When the door swings open, the other person can tell that something is not right.

Parr looks fine physically, but her eyes… they’re bloodshot, wild, looking beyond. A quick look behind Parr reveals a ton of papers that Parr’s written, but it’s not words or phrases or drawings; it’s tic-tac-toe boards, it’s little games, it’s things that should be played with two, but that’s-

Parr, for the record, can’t see the true person in front of her. All she sees is Thomas.

Suddenly, she understands what Mary was talking about.

“Get out,” Parr growls, instantly in his face.

The other blinks. “What? Parr, I’m worried about you, we all are; you didn’t reply to any messages today, and-”

“Did I stutter?” Parr growls out. “You don’t get to talk. Leave us alone. Now.”

“Us?” “Thomas” asks, raising an eyebrow. “Who is us, what are you on about-”

“You do not get to talk to me that way, Seymour,” Parr growls, moving straight up to Seymour. “Not after what you’ve done, not after what you did to Bess.”

A blink of confusion before the other replies: “Bess? Who’s Bess-”

She yelps when Parr pushes her, the back of her head slamming against the wall behind her. 

“You KNOW what you did!” Parr yells, eyes wildly looking over Jane’s face. “You said you weren’t doing anything, you said it was fine, you lied, Tom. You fucking lied-!!”

“Cathy?”

Parr whirls her head around to see a woman there; one she doesn’t recognize just yet.

Parr feels hands suddenly hold onto her tightly, as if keeping Parr in place. “Go back to bed, Katherine, please.”

“Katherine?” Parr asks, more in a who the hell is Katherine sort of way. The Katherine girl shakes her head.

“I want to help,” she says, stepping forward. “Mum-”

“Mum?” Parr asks; certainly this girl isn’t talking to her? If she’s not talking to her, Parr thinks as she turns to look back at Seymour. “What is she-”

But Thomas is gone.

The hands weren’t his, they were hers; Jane Seymour, his sister. Died years ago, she had thought, but something in the back of her mind is trying to tell her different. Something that she doesn’t recognize at first. She pauses, trying to figure it out, as Jane holds onto Parr tighter.

“Katherine, please,” Jane says, a bit more forceful. “Go back to bed. Now.”

Katherine flinches at the tone; it’s not one she hears often. With a final, sad look at Parr, Katherine turns her back to return to her room.

Parr almost moves with her, but Jane holds her in place. 

“You’re not going anywhere near Kitty tonight, Parr,” Jane whispers, her tone way harsher than it just was. “We’re going to Aragon’s room. Come on.”

“Aragon?” Parr asks; she has a lot of questions. “What… what’s happened? Where’s Thomas?”

“My brother?” Jane asks, giving her a weird look. “He’s… he’s been dead for ages now, Catherine. Remember? He didn’t come back, as far as we know.” Jane looks the girl over, not daring to remove her hold on Parr. “Come on, love,” she mumbles, a bit quieter this time.

Parr simply nods, moving with her to Aragon’s room.

Aragon had been at her door when Jane opened it.

“I heard a commotion,” Aragon explains. “What’s happened?”

“Not sure, but she was asking about Thomas,” Jane explains, still a death grip on Parr. “My brother, her ex-husband. She’s seeing things again, Aragon.”

“Alright,” she says, gently moving over to Parr and moving some hair from her face. “I’ll take her from here. I heard Katherine a few seconds ago, you might want to go check on her.”

“I’ll be with her tonight,” Jane confirms, finally releasing Parr. There’s indents of Jane’s nails from where she had been holding Cathy. “Just… be careful,” Jane says quietly. “And call me if you need anything.”

“I will,” Aragon nods. Jane gives Parr a wary look before she walks off, into Katherine’s room, and closes the door. Parr could swear she heard the door lock.

Parr looked back at Aragon. “I don’t… I don’t know what’s happening,” Parr admits, a hand on her head as Aragon leads her inside. “He was here, Aragon, it was him, Thomas Seymour, and-”

“Shh,” Aragon says gently. “It’s alright. Maybe you’re just tired, let’s get some rest.”

Parr takes a deep, shuttering breath before nodding, moving to lay down on the bed. With Catherine nearby, Parr falls asleep relatively quickly.

She’s awakened by the sound of someone praying. 

Parr’s eyes flutter open, looking over at where Aragon was kneeling against the bed. She’s speaking in Spanish, praying to her god about something. She can make out a few words - protection, healing… saving from madness-

And her name. Catherine Parr.

Parr squeezes her eyes shut, trying not to cry. She hates how scared Aragon sounds, how desperate she is for what she calls a “miracle.” It breaks Parr’s heart.

Eventually, Aragon seems to sense that Parr is awake, because she looks up to meet Parr’s gaze. “Good morning, love,” Aragon says softly, gently smoothing out Parr’s hair. “How are we feeling today?”

She sounds totally fine, completely cool and collected; the exact opposite of the woman who had prayed over her just minutes before.

“I’m feeling better,” Parr lied, slowly moving to stand up. “I’ll be fine, Catherine, I promise.”

Aragon gives her a smile, but it’s not convincing.

“I think I heard Jane put the kettle on,” she says. “Do you want some tea? We’ve… got a bit to talk about, love.”

Parr frowns, takes a moment, then nods. “Yeah, I’d like that a lot.”

Aragon stands up and, with a gentle kiss to Parr’s forehead and a gentle cup of her cheek, gives Parr a smile. “I’ll be right back.”

She moves to the door, looking back at Parr, before she closes it. There’s some commotion next to the door - is that Cleves? - before whoever is with Aragon walks with her down the stairs.

Parr leans back against the pillows, squeezing her eyes shut. She’s trying to collect her thoughts, but Mary’s laughter keeps on getting in the way, echoing in her mind every time she giggles-

… wait. What?

Catherine’s eyes shoot open to find Mary. Mary Seymour, her beloved daughter, lost in time but not to her. Parr’s eyes widen and she smiles, delighted.

“Hi, mum!” The child says, waving. She’s a bit older than last time; she’s clearly old enough to climb through the window, it seems.

“Mary!” Parr says, smiling brightly at her. “What are you doing? Get down from there!”

“Catch me!” Mary says, her laughter infectious as she moves out of the window. Parr gets there, opens the window herself, and follows the girl, laughing as she does. It felt good to see her daughter again, grown a few years since last. They play the chasing game for a while, Mary always just out of reach, before they end up at the castle walls.

They’re back at home. Where they belong.

When Parr stops, she finds Mary sitting on the top of the wall. Parr, smiling, pulls her legs over the side and sits with her.

“This is nice,” Parr says, smiling down at the girl. “How did you get here, Mary?”

“I’ve always been here,” she says, a wink as she taps the side of her head. “Always with you.”

“I guess so,” Parr says with a chuckle, gently reaching out for her daughter. Mary, however, shakes her head and backs up, standing on the edge of the castle wall. She starts to walk back and forth on it like a balance beam.

“Have you missed me?” Mary asks continuing to walk back and forth.

“Of course, my love,” Parr says. “Of course I missed you. Every day.”

“Do you want to come with me, then?”

Parr blinks. “I… what?”

“Come with me! Back home,” Mary replies, a bright smile. Parr could swear she’s the sun. “All we gotta do is climb down that way.” she points to the side. “And we’ll go home, right?”

Parr looked out at the setting sun; they hadn’t explored that way, in their travels today. It would be nice, to be with Mary.

“And we could be together?” Parr asks, tilting her head. Mary finally stops, looking down at Parr.

“Yeah!”

“What about the others?” Parr asks, tilting her head.

Mary frowns.

“They can’t, mum; I’m sorry. They can’t follow.”

“Why not?” Parr presses. “Jane and Aragon would make great godmothers. And Cleves can show you a bunch of tricks, so could Boleyn, and Katherine would be the best older sister you could ask for-”

“Because none of this is real, mum.”

Parr freezes, her mind blank for a moment before she blinks.

“I… what?”

“It’s not real,” Mary says simply, as if it’s the simplest thing in the world. “I’m not real. I’m not here. I’m with you, but not here.”

“I…” Parr starts, but she hears someone behind her; Aragon, she realizes. She looks back at Mary, who seems to be… fading away.

“Mary?!?” Parr says, standing with alarm. Mary smiles, now holding out her hand, right in front of Parr - when had there been a platform there? - and Parr reaches out to it, reaches out for her daughter, finally found and safe and okay and-

“Oh, no you don’t!”

Parr’s hand is ripped away from Mary’s at the last moment.

Mary smiles. “It’s alright, Mum. You’re needed here, you see?”

“Mary-!” Parr yells, but the girl fades into light and disappears entirely.

Parr’s scream of grief is one that Aragon never wants to hear again.

“Parr, stop!” She yells, trying to get a hold of the woman, her god daughter. This madness had clearly stolen any reasoning that Parr had left.

It had been a scary two days, with both Aragon and Jane checking in on her throughout. At first, it seemed like Parr was enthralled in a project involving childish games, but when she started talking - something about a “Mary” - both Jane and Aragon had feared the worst. They had tried to talk to her, they had both spent hours in Parr’s room, trying to get her to recognize them, but it didn’t work. Nothing worked. It was just Parr and her Mary.

When it became clear that whatever had taken hold of Parr wasn’t going to let go - and after Jane had been dangerously close to getting a concussion - they had decided to pull the trigger on getting Parr help.

When she had disappeared that day, they had looked everywhere for her. It had been luck - or maybe intuition? - that Boleyn had suggested checking the bridge nearby. Whatever it was, it might have saved Parr’s life.

“I saw her, Aragon! I swear, she was right… she was right there! They both were!” she tries to move out of Aragon’s grasp, tries to move back towards where her child had been leading her. “Mary! MARY!”

With no other options, Aragon took drastic measures. She grabbed Parr tighter now, determination on her face, as she whirled the girl around. Parr was screaming, tears down her face, screaming for a daughter that was left to the unknown, left erased in history. Every time Parr said the child’s name just furthered Aragon’s resolve.

With a quick hand, she slaps Parr across the face.

Parr yelps, eyes wide in shock as tears continued to fall. She’s gone silent now, body trembling as she stays frozen, right in front of Aragon. She can hear the others protest, call out for Parr, but none of that mattered right now.

No, not while reality bled in.

She looks around, as if waking from a dream: it’s not the castle. It’s not home. It’s a bridge, yes, but it’s one from modern times. From 500 years later than she thought it was. Cars whizzed pass, honking occasionally, and Aragon was holding onto her for dear life. As she looked back, she saw why: what Parr had thought was the top of a castle wall was actually the fence of the bridge.

Below her, hundreds of feet below, was an unforgiving ocean below. 

She screams in panic, instantly latching onto Aragon like a lifeline. She can barely breathe as she looks down, catching the breath she’s suddenly lost. She’s trying to ask what’s happened, why are they here, what is going on, but no words will come out. Instead, she just yells again, looking up at Aragon with wide, fearful eyes.

“It’s alright,” Aragon says, pulling her as close as she can. “It’s okay. I’m right here, we’ll get you back.”

Cleves and Boleyn step up then, quick to help get the girl over the railing once more. With Parr safely back on solid ground, Katherine is quick to move in to embrace the girl. Parr stumbles slightly, a bit of a daze, before she hugs back fiercely. 

“It’s alright,” Parr says, keeping Katherine close. “It’s okay. I’m back, love, I’m here.”

She looks up, past Katherine’s shoulder mid-embrace, to meet Jane’s very, very scared gaze. Jane tries to give her a gentle, strong smile, but Parr knows Seymour better than that. With a gentle nod - not a strong one, not a convincing one - Parr gentle releases Katherine, keeping the girl close as they all walk towards the car. Parr shivers and Jane instantly gives her the blanket she grabbed in the rush to grab Catherine; Parr accepts it gratefully. 

There’s silence in the car; Jane and Boleyn are up front, Aragon and Katherine in the middle row and Cleves and Parr in the back. Parr notes the strategy in the back of her mind - she can’t reach the wheel and Cleves is the strongest of them. Aragon being directly in front of Parr instead of Katherine - who would be at an awkward angle should Parr’s sanity leave her again - was also planned, it seems.

They’re playing this very, very smart.

Parr’s relieved.

They enter the hospital a moment later, as Parr expected. The others stay in the car as Cleves and Aragon get out.

“We’ll take it from here,” Aragon says. “Cleves can pick her up if needed, and I’ll… I’ll make sure it doesn’t come to that.”

Boleyn watches Parr with a sad gaze as she nods, moving to sit with Katherine in the back. Katherine is trying very hard not to cry, anxiety clear in her gaze, and Parr wants to tell her that it’s alright, that she’ll be okay, but… to be honest, Parr doesn’t know.

She won’t lie to the girl.

“Go on,” Parr says instead. “We’ve got this.”

Katherine looks Parr over for a moment before she nods. Jane tells Aragon to call if there’s anything they can do before they drive off.

Parr looks back at the hospital. “How long am I staying?”

“Just the weekend,” Aragon says gently. “If things go well, you’ll be back in time for the next show, if you want to do it.”

“It depends on how this goes,” Cleves says seriously, her arm wrapped around Parr’s. It’s not has tight as Jane’s was before - it’s reassuring, calmling, even. “If things check out, then you’re good to go. But they won’t let you leave until they’re confident you’re not dangerous to yourself or others.”

Parr nods, looking down at the ground. “… will I get better?” she asks, voice broken. She can hear Mary nearby, even now; she holds onto Aragon as she hears it.

“Catherine, look at me.”

Parr does, desperate to have reassurance, a promise that she won’t lose her mind. 

Aragon can’t offer that, but she can offer something else.

“We’re going to be here every step of the way,” Aragon promises. “The rest of the queens and I. Whatever it takes to help you, we’ll do it.”

Parr looks at Aragon for a moment more before she smiles and nods. “I love you.”

“And I, you, love,” Aragon says, a gentle kiss to the girl’s forehead. “Come on. They’re expecting us.”

Parr looks at Cleves who, with a soft nod, helps Parr forward. As they walk to the front desk, Catherine spots Mary again, right outside the hospital.

“This is it, Mum,” she says, giving her a sad smile. “Last chance.”

Parr looks back at Aragon - checking her in - then at Cleves, looking down at her phone for the moment. She looks back at her daughter - her wonderful, fantastic daughter…

… and with a gentle smile, she shakes her head.

Tears fall as she sees Mary nod. “It’s alright. I understand. I think… I think you’re better off here. You’ve got a story to tell, anyways.”

With a bright smile, Mary turns away, towards the setting sun. “I won’t see you soon, so… see you when I see you, mum. I love you.”

As Mary walks down the long path that made up the front of the hospital, Parr spots three people with her - she recognizes them immediately. Mary of Aragon, smiling; Edward Tudor, giving her a wave; and finally, Elizabeth, her dear Elizabeth, gently holding out her hand for Mary to grab. When Bess looks back up and catches Parr’s eye, she nods, a gentle, sad smile on her face.

They all fade into light and disappear entirely.

A weight on Parr’s mind lifts and she exhales loudly, tears in her eyes.

“Catherine?” 

Parr looks over at Aragon, turning fully from the entrance. Aragon looks concerned. “You okay?”

Parr looks back at the setting sun one more time, closing her eyes as she prays a quick prayer, before she looks back at Aragon.

“Yeah, Catherine. I will be.”


End file.
